Railway-lantern



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS R. THOMAS, OF NEWTON, KANSAS.

RAILWAY-LANTERN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,530, dated April 18, 1893.

Application filed December 27, 1892. Serial No. 456,429. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, LEWIS R. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Newton, in the county of Harvey and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Lanterns, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference thereon, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1, is a perspective elevation of a lantern, representing the base thereof in section, and showing the signal glass attached into position as it would appear in service; Fig. 2, a face view of said signal glass; Figs. 3, and 4 detailed perspectives of the signal glass holding devices, which are attached to the side of the lantern; Fig. 5, a bottom view of the lantern and of the signal glass as itwould appear when held in the hollow of the lantern base, and Figs. 6 and 7, are detailed perspectives of the signal glass holding devices which are attached in the hollow'of thelantern base.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in an attachment to railway lanterns for adapting lanterns of that class serviceable for signaling purposes when so desired, and consists in certain novel devices for attaching a signal, glass, detachably, to both the side and in the hollow of the base of a lantern, and in certain novel construction of the frame of the signal glass, which improvements are fully set forth and explained in the following specification, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings the upper portion of the lantern is represented by the letter D, and the base thereof by the letter A.

0 represents a keeper and is attached to one side of the lantern base in such manner as to overreach such hood, and is provided with a downturned portion 0" and within said portion 0 with a latch lug O.

E represents a yielding holder foot and is secured to one side of the lantern body a little distance below the globe, on a vertical line with keeper 0 in such manner as to extend out from the lantern body to a point about equal from the lantern center, with that of keeper 0, and has its upper portion bent to present a horizontal surface which portion is provided with a slot E.

The signal glass is represented at B, and is provided with a rim or frame R which is provided at one side with a depression or notch V and at its upper side with an extending flat shank S.

In adjusting the signal glass B to the lantern the flat shank S is entered into the slot F of foot pieceE and is then tilted to one side until the upper portion of the glass frame will enter behind the keeper 0, when it is forced to an erect position, which will cause the frame R to ride the latch lug O of keeper 0 and thereby force down foot piece E until the notch V of frame R registers with said lug, when the foot piece will yieldingly hold the glass frame with said latch lug restingin the frame notch V and in such position the downturned portion 0 of keeper 0 prevents the escape, forward,of the glass, and the flat form of shank S, which registers with said slot E prevents any rotary movement of the glass, and thus said glass is detachably yet firmly held for all practical purposes.

F represents akeeper similar to thatshown at C,and is secured at apoint to one side from the center in the hollow of the lantern base, and G is a yielding holder, similar to the foot piece shown atE, andis secured in the hollow of said base opposite keeper F, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The purpose of said keeperF and holder G is, to provide a means of holding the signal glass Bin the hollow of the lantern base when the said glass is not in service, which inanner of holding is like unto that described of the side of thelantern, and which means of storing the said glass when not in service, not only shields it from view, but retains it with the lantern whereit is accessible at all times when the lantern is in use, so that, it may be removed from the base hollow and adjusted to the lantern side whenever occasion requires its use as a signal.

The manner of detaching the signal glass from the holders is, first by pressing the glass in the direction of the holding foot piece,

causing said foot piece to yield sufficiently to Any colored signal glass may be used, but for all practical signaling purposes the glass will be red. It will be observed, by such construction, that the base A of the lantern, carrying the oil receptacle and burner thereof, may be detached, as is usual inlanterns, from the remaining upper portion of the lantern, without interfering with the adjustment of the signal glass.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows, to wit:

1. The combination with the lantern provided with the extending keeper 0 secured to the hood thereof, and with the yielding extending slotted foot piece secured to the body thereof; of the signal glass provided with the rim or frame R, with the depression or notch V, and with the fiat extending shank S, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination With the lantern provided with the keeperF secured to one side in the hollow of the base thereof, andwith the yielding and slotted foot or holder G secured in the hollow of said base opposite said keeper; of the signal glass provided with the rim or frame R, with the depression or notch V, and with the flat extending shank S, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with the lantern provided with the keepers O and F, and with the yielding slotted foot pieces or holders E and G, secured to the lantern as described and shown; of the signal glass provided with the rim or frame R, with the notch adapted to register with the latch lugs of said keepers, and with the flat extending shank adapted to register in the slots of said holders,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

LEWIS R. THOMAS. Witnesses:

WM. J. HUTOHINS, F. S. GOULD. 

